Foster homes: residential capacity.

The California Community Care Facilities Act provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, including, among others, foster family homes, small family homes, and foster family agencies, as defined. Under existing law, a violation of the act is a misdemeanor. Existing law limits foster family homes and small family homes to 6 or fewer foster children, but allows a licensing agency to increase that limit to 8 foster children under specified circumstances. Existing regulations of the State Department of Social Services require that these licensing agencies include biological, adoptive, and guardianship children in the number of children for whom these homes are licensed to provide care and supervision. Existing law also requires the licensing agency to take into consideration how many children, in addition to the children already living in the home, the caregiver is capable of providing care and supervision to and that the home can accommodate. Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services is required to develop a program to establish specialized foster care homes for children with special health care needs. No more than 2 foster care children are permitted to reside in a specialized foster care home, except that an additional foster child, or children, may be permitted if specified conditions are met. This bill would specify that, in determining the licensed capacity of a specialized foster family home or a specialized certified family home, the State Department of Social Services shall consider all adoptive, biological, and foster children, and children in guardianship living in the home, in order not to exceed a total of 6 children living in the home. The bill also would make conforming and technical changes. This bill would state that its provisions are declaratory of existing law.